Tropical Fever
by Lord Agravane the Undead
Summary: When Maxie and Archie hear that Lysandre is going to visit Hoenn, they are both determined to convince him that their Team is the coolest. How will that go? Who will Lysandre prefer to hang out with or is he way cooler then the Hoenn boys?
1. Chapter 1

**Tropical Fever**

_By Lord Agravane the Undead_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon and I wrote everything while sober. F*ck yeah, being sober.

**Part 1**

"Hey Boss! Guess what?"

Maxie looked up from his laptop to see two of his grunts running towards him.

"M5, M6, what is it?" he asked.

The grunts skidded to a halt in front of Maxie. M5 grinned and M6 wiped his nose on his sleeve, as it was running copiously.

"You're not gonna believe this", said M5 in excitement.

"Believe what? Is it something silly or important? I am really busy, you know".

"Oh Boss, we never bother you with anything silly", said M5 in a hurt tone.

"Yes you do. What about last week, when I was having a shower and you burst in, complaining that M43 had stolen your cupcake and could I come and tell him off".

M5 went red. M6 snorted with laughter, unintentionally covering M5 with snot.

"Alright, this time it's important", said M5, accepting a handkerchief of Maxie. He wiped his face and continued.

"We were shopping at the 7-11 and Professor Birch and Brendan were in the queue in front of us. Naturally we weren't eavesdropping but when the Professor mentioned Kalos, I just had to listen, as I am from there originally".

"Yes, go on", said Maxie.

"He was saying that Professor Sycamore is coming to visit him next week, to do some field work with him. He also said that the Prof is bringing his best mate, Lysandre, with him".

Maxie raised his eyebrows. "Lysandre?" he said. "THE Lysandre. The famous inventor Lysandre? The Boss of Team Flare Lysandre?"

"Yeah, that's the one", said M5. M6 snuffled and nodded his head.

"Lysandre is coming here. To Hoenn!" Maxie sighed in longing. "This is excellent news! Here is our chance to show him that Team Magma are really, really cool!"

"How are we gonna do that, Boss?" M5 asked.

"By meeting him and hanging out with him", Maxie replied. "We already are really cool and he just needs to spend time with us to know that".

"I don't feel so cool", said M6, wiping his nose on the handkerchief.

"Oh, have you got a cold again?" Maxie asked.

"Nah Boss, it's just hay fever".

"Aw, M6, you're always so congested", said Maxie. He patted M6 on the shoulder. "Did you get some antihistamines from the 7-11?"

"Yes Boss and some Team Aqua grunts behind us were making fun of me because I needed them", said M6.

"Oh, just ignore them", said Maxie. "Team Aqua are just plebs. Except for Shelley, of course".

"Ha, you're just saying that cus you fancy her!" M5 smirked.

"Yes, I'm allowed to have a girlfriend, you know", said Maxie. "Wait! Did you say Team Aqua?"

"Yeah, they were annoying us something awful".

Maxie clapped his hand to his forehead.

"Oh no!" he groaned. "I bet they overheard Professor Birch telling Brendan about Lysandre visiting. Now I bet that blockhead Archie will try to impress Lysandre more and make us look uncool".

"Yeah, he'll probably do that Boss", said M5.

Maxie assumed a determined expression.

"Well, he won't succeed. Our new plan for the upcoming weeks. To impress Lysandre at all costs and make him realise that Team Magma are THE coolest villainous team in Hoenn!"

* * *

Meanwhile, on Team Aqua's ship, two Aqua grunts were telling Archie about Lysandre's upcoming visit.

"Ha, A303 and A27, lemme get this straight", Archie said. "Lysandre's coming here? To Hoenn?"

"Yeah Boss, for a holiday", said A303.

"And to visit Prof Birch", said A27.

"And to help him with his field work", said A303.

"Professor Sycamore's coming too", said A27.

Archie snorted. "Screw Professor Sycamore!"

"Yeah Boss, he's probably gonna do that too".

"Yeah, of course. Wait, WHAT?" Archie nearly knocked over his rum.

"Argh, bloody hell, that's nearly a full bottle". He grabbed the neck and held it steady. "OK, so when is Lysandre getting here? Naturally, we must invite him round to the ship and impress the socks off him".

"We're not sure Boss", said A27 in a pained voice. "This stupid Magma grunt in front of us kept snorking snot up his nose and drowning out our eavesdropping on Prof Birch's conversation".

"What? Team Magma!" Archie scowled. "Oh, that's bloody great, that is! Now they're gonna try and impress Lysandre more, I just know it".

"Well they can't", said A303 firmly. "We're cooler than them and Lysandre will like us better".

"Of course he will", said Archie. He drank some more rum from the bottle. "And don't worry about exactly when Lysandre is arriving either, that's just a minor detail. By the time Lysandre leaves, he will know that Team Aqua are the best, most awesome team in Hoenn!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:**

For some reason, Prof Sycamore sounds like Pops from Regular show xD

* * *

_The Tropical Trees Bed & Breakfast, Littleroot Town_

"Wow, Lysandre, isn't this exciting!" Professor Sycamore beamed at the ginger-haired chap sitting opposite him. "Us being in Hoenn and getting to work with Professor Birch!"

"Yes and Hoenn is very beautiful", Lysandre agreed. "All the exotic flowers and trees; it's so very different from Kalos".

Professor Sycamore took a sip of coffee. "Yes and just think, all those Hoenn Pokemon Professor Birch is going to show to us!"

Just then, a pretty, dark-haired girl approached their table. She was dressed mainly in blue and was carrying a large envelope.

"Monsieur Fleur-de-lys and Professor Sycamore?" she enquired.

"Bonjour Mademoiselle", said Professor Sycamore. "How may we help you?"

"Ah, great, it is you. I'm Shelley from Team Aqua". She handed the envelope to Lysandre. "My Boss, Archie told me to give you this".

"Thank you", said Lysandre. He opened the envelope and unfolded the letter within. Professor Sycamore moved round the table to read it too.

_To Lysandre and Professor Sycamore_

_You are invited to come fishing with me and some of my mates on Saturday. Don't worry if you don't have rods, we can supply them. _

_P.S. Make sure you can hold your drink._

_Archie Aogiri (the awesome leader of Team Aqua)._

Lysandre and Professor Sycamore looked at each other.

"That sounds like fun", said Professor Sycamore.

"Yes", Lysandre agreed. He smiled at Shelley.

"Thank you, Mademoiselle, tell Archie that we will definitely attend", he said. "Where do we need to be and at what time?"

"Great!" said Shelley. "It will be at Team Aqua's Secret Base, so I'll go and let Archie know and then I'll meet you guys here at about 7:30 on Saturday morning.

Lysandre and Professor Sycamore said goodbye to Shelley. As they continued their breakfast and discussed the up and coming fishing trip, a waiter nearby listened intently. He gathered up some plates and grinned to himself as he walked away, snuffling loudly.

* * *

"Hmm", said Maxie, taking off his glasses and cleaning the lenses on his jacket. "So Archie has invited Lysandre and the Professor fishing on Saturday?"

"Yeah Boss, exactly", said M6.

Maxie put his glasses back on and pushed them up in nose in a determined fashion.

"Well, we can do better than that. We need to think up something even more fun for Lysandre to do for Sunday".

He glanced over to Courtney and Tabitha, who were sitting on a settee nearby, eating pizza.

"Ugh, fishing!" said Tabitha. "So much water. I feel seasick just thinking about it".

"Fishing isn't really very exciting", Courtney agreed. "Just sitting in a boat, watching a silly float bob up and down. Now, cricket...THERE'S a fun sport".

"Cricket?" Maxie asked.

"Yeah, it's a great game", Tabitha said eagerly. "I'm really good at it too!" He jumped up from the settee and mimed swinging a cricket bat round.

"Tabitha, your imaginary cricket bat just hit me in the nads", said Maxie.

"Oops, sorry Boss", said Tabitha, sitting back down again.

"Oh please Maxie, let's do cricket", said Courtney. "It's really popular in Kalos, it's classy and we can have tea and scones afterwards".

"Hm, alright then, that does sound good", Maxie said. "I'll just fetch my laptop and compose a letter of invitation".

"Hahaha, brilliant", said Courtney, grabbing M6 and pulling him and Tabitha into a group hug. "Now we can show Lysandre that Team Magma are the most fun team to hang out with!"

* * *

"Look, Augustine". Lysandre showed Professor Sycamore the letter that Tabitha had just delivered. "We are invited to play in a cricket match with Team Magma on Sunday. And we're going to have tea and scones afterwards too".

"Oh, we are very popular!" Professor Sycamore said in delight. "That will be fun! You did say yes, didn't you dear?"

"Of course", said Lysandre. He folded the letter and placed in the drawer of the bedside cabinet. "So we have engagements all weekend from the villainous teams of Hoenn and Professor Birch is taking us out into the field after lunch".

"Yes, we are going to be very busy on our holidays", said Professor Sycamore.

Lysandre checked his watch. "11:29. We are not busy now and we don't have to meet the Professor until 13:00", he said. "What shall we do to kill some time?"

Professor Sycamore smiled at Lysandre and began to unbutton his shirt. "I can think of...one of two things".


	3. Chapter 3

Archie's fishing trip was NOT going well!

It had started off excellently. Shelley had turned up at 7:50, accompanied by Lysandre and Professor Sycamore. They had both been very impressed with Team Aqua's ship; impressed to such an extent, that Archie was certain any boring old random volcano they saw afterwards would pale into insignificance.

The weather was perfect; not a cloud in the sky and just enough breeze to prevent the day from becoming uncomfortably hot. Archie had supplied his guests with rods and bait and made sure that they had plenty of food (and rum to drink). Then he had had some of his grunts lower a large fishing boat down into the ocean. Finally, Archie, Matt and Shelly had joined the Kalos men on the trip, all ready to have a brilliant day.

Not long after they had set up their equipment, Archie had decided that the one thing that would really impress Lysandre beyond any doubt at all would be a bet. A bet with embarrassing forfeits! He suggested it and was delighted when Lysandre agreed to play along.

"OK, this is great", Archie said. "Right, so the bet is, I'll catch more fish that you. You accept that mate?"

"Of course", said Lysandre. "After all, you've probably spent more time at sea than I've spent choosing fashionable outfits to wear. It is your expertise".

"Hahahaha, good", said Archie, rubbing his hands together. "Right then. If I get the most fish, you gotta take your pants off when he get back to the ship and let me fly them as Team Aqua's flag until we get back to shore!"

"I accept", said Lysandre. (Professor Sycamore began to giggle). "And if I catch the most, hmmm...have you got a girlfriend, Archie?"

"Yeah, of course", said Archie.

"Good. So if you lose the bet, you have to wear her perfume for a whole 24 hours (If she'll let you, of course)".

Matt and Shelley yelled with laughter.

"Shush you two", said Archie, blushing a little. "I aint gonna lose, you know that".

"Shake on it?" said Lysandre.

"Yeah", said Archie. The two guys shook hands.

"May the best man (who is me) win", said Archie. "Now, you lot, enjoy yourselves!"

* * *

And certainly, everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. Professor Sycamore was eating a chocolate éclair and talking to Matt about his boyfriend Tabitha. Lysandre was telling Shelley about the different species of Pokemon that could be found in Kalos. And Archie was drinking rum and glaring at the buckets in which they were storing their fish. Because, Lysandre already had two buckets full and he, Archie had none!

_This isn't bloody fair at all_ Archie thought. _I've been fishing since I was about 2 or 3 and I'm the sodding host here too! I should have the most fish. How the bloody hell is Lysandre getting so many?_

Archie lowered his bottle and gazed out to sea, watching the float on his rod bounce up and down in the waves. _Come on, go under! Just one fish to get me started. Preferably a giant one that'll impress everybody!_

And as if the float was listening, it suddenly vanished beneath the surface with a sharp jerk. Thrusting his bottle at Matt, Archie grabbed his rod and began to reel it in.

"Ha, this is a big one, I'm sure of it", Archie said gleefully. "I can feel it pulling so hard, it's almost breaking the sodding line in two".

The others all turned to watch Archie wrestling with his gigantic fish. They shouted words of encouragement and Matt took a swig of rum, to calm his nerves. Slowly but surely Archie drew his line upwards and inwards, until at last, the end appeared. Archie's grin faded when he saw he'd landed a fish about two inches long. It gave a wriggle and popped off the end of the line, diving back into the sea.

"Awww, it got away Boss", said Matt in a sympathetic tone. "Better luck next time".

"Stupid bloody fish", Archie swore.

By the afternoon, Archie had caught the grand total of two fish (the biggest one was a whopping three and a half inches long). Lysandre had caught so many; he'd started throwing them back and had Professor Sycamore keeping tabs in a notebook. They had swapped sides, so that Archie had fished on the opposite side of the boat, as he was convinced that somehow the fish were biting better there. However, it still didn't help him. He was becoming more and more frustrated at his lack of success and it didn't help that Lysandre was so modest either.

"Why can't you boast about it and be an arsehole?" Archie finally said to him. "At least then I could punch you in the nose and feel justified for doing so".

"Archie, that's rude", Shelley scolded. "Lysandre and Professor Sycamore are our guests".

"Alright then. I'll punch Professor Sycamore too, so he doesn't feel left out".

"You're mean!" said Shelley. "Just because Lysandre is having better success with his rod than you are".

"HA! That's it!" Archie snapped his fingers. "It's the bloody rods, aint it". He hustled over to Lysandre. "OK mate, we're swapping. I'll use your rod and you can have mine. Then we'll see who the best fisherman is".

"If you insist", said Lysandre, handing his rod over.

Two hours later, Professor Sycamore announced that Lysandre had caught another eighteen fish, while Archie had caught one. He glared at the inch and a half long specimen in his bucket.

"Cheer up Boss, at least you caught one more", said Matt.

"It's too small", Archie sulked. "You need a bloody microscope to see it".

Lysandre smirked at him. "Never mind Archie. It's not the size that matters; it's what you do with it".

* * *

Evening arrived, with a red ball of sun slowly sinking towards the western horizon. The waves lapped gently against the sides of the boat, playing a soothing melody. Matt and Shelley dozed, Professor Sycamore checked his notebook and Lysandre and Archie packed away their fishing equipment. Lysandre was at peace with the world, while Archie looked as if he wanted to chuck a certain ginger bloke overboard.

"How did we do, Augustine?" Lysandre asked, when Professor Sycamore looked up from the notebook.

"Hmm, let's see", said the Professor, flipping through the pages. Archie took a quick gulp or rum and Shelley and Matt stirred.

"Oh great, now they're waking up to see how badly I was pwned", Archie groaned.

"OK", said Professor Sycamore. "Archie, you caught 5 fish. Lysandre dear, you caught 384!"

Archie facepalmed.

"Congratulations, sweetie", said Professor Sycamore, hugging Lysandre and kissing him on the cheek.

"Humph! You cheated", said Archie, poking Lysandre in the chest. "You used secret ginger powers to attract all of the fish!"

"I didn't", said Lysandre, starting to laugh. "I probably caught more because you made too much noise and scared them off".

"Balls, did I!" Archie grumbled. "They're under the bloody water, they can't hear me".

"Come on Boss, we better get back to our ship now", said Shelley. "Haven't you got a date with Courtney tonight?"

"Ohhh, yeah, I have", said Archie, cheering up a little.

"Good! You can ask her about her perfume then", Lysandre reminded Archie.

"Ugh!" Archie covered up his eyes again. "I can't bloody believe this!"

"Well, I can just say that it's good thing that Professor Oak's grandson isn't here" said Professor Sycamore.

"Uh, why?" Archie asked.

"Heh, because then he would definitely be able to smell you later".


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday afternoon arrived and Lysandre and Professor Sycamore turned up at the cricket field in Lavaridge Town, ready for their second sporting event of the weekend. It was another fine day, with the sun shining down out of a cornflower blue sky. Looking very smart in their cricket whites, Lysandre and the Professor stood under a shady Lum berry tree, while Courtney and Tabitha set up the equipment and Maxie briefed them on the game.

"OK, so it's five-a-side and I'm going to have Tabitha and three grunts on my team", he was saying. "You can have Courtney and a couple of grunts. Who would you like?"

"Hmm, how about that one?" said Lysandre, pointing to M5, who was trying to balance a cricket ball on his nose.

"Sure, you can have him". Maxie called M5, who came trotting over.

"Bonjour, M5", said Lysandre. "How would you like to play cricket for us?" M5 blushed.

"Uh, yeah...that'd be great", he said, honoured at being chosen by the Team Flare leader. "Thank you Monsieur".

"That's alright", said Lysandre. "Hm, you have a Kalosian accent?"

"Yes, I'm originally from Santalune City but I moved with my parents to Rustboro when I was 16".

"Oh, that must have been a big change, coming from a beautiful city to a large, industrial one", said Professor Sycamore.

"Uh, it's OK I guess", said M5. "I'm, OH!" He squealed and rushed over to another grunt who had just arrived on the field. "M6, we're playing for Lysandre and Prof Sycamore!"

M6 looked startled but pleased and he hurried over. Professor Sycamore smiled at Lysandre and said, "Well, it looks like that is our team sorted".

"Alright, is everybody ready then?" said Tabitha, setting the bails on the stumps.

"Oh, not yet, we haven't arranged a bet" said Maxie.

Professor Sycamore and Lysandre looked at each other, amused.

"A bet?" said Tabitha.

"Yes, of course. Archie is bound to have insisted on our guests betting with him, so we have to do the same, otherwise we won't be as cool".

"With embarrassing forfeits?" Lysandre enquired.

"Naturally", said Maxie. "Alright then, if we beat you Lysandre, you have to dye your hair blue with a temporary dye for 24 hours".

"Very well, I accept", said Lysandre. (Professor Sycamore covered his mouth with his hands to hide his giggles). "And if you lose, Maxie, you have to wear your pants over the top of your trousers, for 24 hours".

Maxie blushed profusely and Courtney, Tabitha and the grunts all laughed.

"Ohh, that is very embarrassing", he admitted.

"Isn't it", Lysandre agreed. "Will you take the bet?"

"Uhh, yes, of course". Maxie and Lysandre shook hands. "Ok, let's play. Your team can bat first".

M5 took the bat, Professor Sycamore went behind the wickets to be the keeper and M6 took his bat and went up the other end to be the none-striker. Tabitha was to bowl first and Maxie and the other grunts were to field.

* * *

The game went very well...for Lysandre's team.

All of the players were pretty good and the two teams were evenly matched. However, Lysandre was an excellent catcher. When Maxie's team was batting and he fielded, he rarely missed a ball, thus preventing them from scoring many runs. When he kept wicket, he was even more deadly and if the batsman didn't get to the ball first, he would be caught out as fast as blinking.

After everybody had played one over, they stopped for half time and some orange juice and biscuits. Maxie checked his notebook for the scores and didn't look very happy.

"Oh, we're losing badly!" he exclaimed. "We have only three runs and one four. Lysandre, your team has fifty five runs, three fours and four sixes".

Courtney sat there, eyes closed and repeating a mantra under her breath. "I mustn't tell Archie, I mustn't tell Archie".

"Never mind", said Lysandre, patting Maxie's shoulder. "It's only half time and you chaps are sure to do much better in the second half".

"Ha, maybe if we tie your arms behind your back when you field", Tabitha smirked.

The second half did NOT go better for Maxie's team. Despite them playing even better than in the first half, Lysandre hardly missed a single ball and as Maxie waited for Courtney to bowl the final ball at him, he had a sinking feeling that the next 24 hours were going to be very humiliating!

_If only, somehow I could hit the ball so far, it would end up in Lilycove City and then Tabitha and I could run and run until we beat Lysandre's score, even just if we beat them by one!_

"OUT!" yelled Courtney, as the ball smacked into the wicket, knocking the bails clean off.

Maxie was far too polite to say a rude word, so he thought it instead.

* * *

Maxie was in his bedroom, staring in distaste at his reflection in the mirror. Lysandre had been kind and allowed him to start his forfeit after they had finished their tea and scones. Now, Lysandre and Professor Sycamore had returned to Littleroot bed and breakfast and Maxie was glaring at himself, with his boxers over the top of his trousers.

There was a knock at the door and Maxie gasped and grabbed his jacket, pulling it over his legs. "Yes, who is it?" he called out.

"It's me, Tabitha. Can I come in Boss?"

"Uh, sure".

The door opened and Tabitha entered. He saw the jacket across Maxies' legs and grinned.

"Go on Boss, let's have a look then", he said, reaching for it.

"No, you little pervert!" said Maxie, pushing Tabitha's hands away. "And, what did you want?

"Shelley's here, can she come in to see you? She says that you've been a bad boy".

"Tabitha, I am the leader of a villainous team", Maxie said patiently. "I'm always bad".

"Yeah", Tabitha agreed, nodding. "And she's brought this box with all whips and chains in too".

"Oh!" said Maxie in surprise. "In that case, tell her to come right up".

"OK, Boss". Tabitha left the room and Maxie grinned, thinking that the day wasn't turning out so bad after all.


	5. Chapter 5

That evening, Archie had a date with Courtney. He had agreed to take her out to dinner, to a new grill bar which had opened in Lavaridge Town. As they walked in through the double doors, Archie was so thankful that his forfeit was finally over and he'd been able to take a shower and get rid of all traces of Courtney's perfume.

"Awww, I really liked you with my perfume on", Courtney teased him as they found a table. "You know, you can wear it again whenever you want".

"Nope, no way!" said Archie, feeling himself go red. "That was the most embarrassing 24 hours I have ever had".

"Are you sure?" Courtney asked him. "You are really tempting me to ask Shelley to verify that now".

"Humph! Just because Shelley is a Team Aqua admin, doesn't mean that she had a detailed history of all my embarrassing moments", said Archie.

"Aha, so you DO have more! Many more!" Courtney beamed. "I shall make it my main priority to find out what they are".

Archie tried to think of something to say to defend himself, when he noticed Maxie coming in through the entrance. "Look", he said, changing the subject. "Here's that red-haired...I mean Maxie".

"Oh, hi Boss", said Courtney, waving him over. Maxie approached the table, somewhat nervously.

"Hello Courtney. I forgot to give you these", he said, sliding his hand into his jacket and taking out a plain brown envelope."

"Aha, thanks. What are they, Boss?"

"Secret Team Magma plans. Don't show them to Archie".

Archie snorted. "That means it's a shopping list or something".

"Shush, Archie", said Maxie. "Ok, I must leave now. I have, uhm...business to attend to back at the Base".

"Oi Maxie, you do realise that you've got your underwear on over the top of your trousers, right?" Archie said.

"Yes", said Maxie, his cheeks going pink. "I, uh, lost at cricket to Lysandre".

"Ha, so you got pwned by him too", Archie smirked. "Nice to know it wasn't just me".

"Why, what did he make you do?" Maxie asked with interest.

"Hahah, you look right silly", Archie said, ignoring Maxie's question. "I bet that's the first time that Shelley's ever had to take off your underwear before your trousers!"

"Archie, shush!" said Maxie, blushing more. "There are ladies present", he added, giving Courtney a significant glance.

"Ha", said Archie, delighted to be embarrassing Maxie so much. "Well, there is a lady present when you and Shelley are...oof!" Archie gasped as Courtney nudged him hard in the ribs.

"Behave Archie! Plus that's my Bosses' sex life you're trying to discuss in the middle of a grill bar".

Maxie looked down at the floor, to see if it was willing to open up and swallow him. Sadly, it remained very solid. He was therefore, greatly relieved when Lysandre turned up from somewhere and came over to their table.

"Bonsoir, Mademoiselle and Monsieur's", he greeted them.

"Good evening Lysandre", said Maxie and Courtney, while Archie made a face that resembled an Ursaring with piles.

"Archie, don't look like that", Courtney scolded him. "Smile properly at Lysandre".

Archie smiled, clasped his hands together and fluttered his eyelashes.

"Um, well I came to invite you all to dine with Augustine and I, tomorrow evening", said Lysandre. "Naturally, bring along your other admins too. We are going to hire out a marquee so we can eat outside and we'll be doing all the cooking".

"That sounds lovely", said Courtney. She beamed at Maxie. "We will certainly go, won't we, Boss?"

"Yes, of course", said Maxie. "Archie?"

Archie frowned. "Sure, as long as we have real food".

"Real food?" said Lysandre, puzzled. "Of course! We're not going to eat wax food, you know".

"Yeah, I know that", said Archie. "I meant like...real food. Not snails".

"Snails?"

"Yeah cos that's what you guys eat in Kalos!" Archie screwed up his nose. "Horrible, slimy snails!"

Lysandre went red.

"Don't be silly Archie, we don't eat snails!"

"Yeah, you do", Archie insisted. "And me and Maxie aren't eating anything gross like that". He nudged Maxie. "Are we?"

"Uh", said Maxie, caught off guard at Archie including him in a friendly manner and not speaking as if they were rivals.

Just then, Courtney's mobile rang.

"Oh, it's Shelley", she said. "I'll just pop outside to chat for a moment. Archie, try and behave like you've graduated from fifth grade while I'm away, will you?"

"Yes dear", Archie said meekly.

Courtney left the crowded room. Archie made another face and muttered something about girlfriends having little faith in his maturity level. As Courtney went out through the door, Professor Sycamore entered, holding it open for her.

"Oh good, Augustine's here", said Lysandre. "I shall tell him that you're all coming to dinner then?"

"Yes, of course", said Maxie. Archie huffed and pretended to look at the menu.

"Bonsoir, Archie, Maxie", the Professor said, approaching them. "Lysandre, dinner is ready. Are you coming, dear?"

"Yes", said Lysandre. "And Archie and Maxie said that they would come to dinner too".

"What, tonight?" said Professor Sycamore, puzzled. "But I have only cooked enough escargots for two".

"Oops, no, I meant for the dinner party tomorrow".

"Escargots?" Archie said, looking at Maxie.

"Archie, that means snails. That's the proper name for them", Maxie said in an undertone.

"Ha!" Archie yelled in triumph and poked Lysandre in the chest. "You do eat snails, ahahahahaha, you do!"

"Archie..." said Lysandre, blushing again.

"Hahaha, Maxie knew what they were really called! We caught you out there. You've been pwned, Lysandre".

Professor Sycamore raised his eyebrows, trying hard not laugh. Lysandre glared at Archie.

"It's not that funny!"

"It is!" Archie laughed. He stood up and wiggled his ass at Lysandre. "Pwned, pwned, pwned!" he chanted.

Lysandre sighed and covered his eyes.

"Come on, Augustine. Let's go, shall we?"

"Of course", said Professor Sycamore, his lip twitching. He slipped his arm through Lysandre's

"Yeah", Archie said, gleefully. "Go and eat your snails!"

Maxie pretended to clean his glasses so that Lysandre couldn't see him laughing.

"You...are really immature!" said Lysandre, as he walked off with Professor Sycamore.

"Oooh, immature! That's a girly insult. Lysandre, you insult like a girl!" Archie yelled after him.

Maxie nudged Archie. "Erm, Archie?"

Archie looked round to see that Courtney had returned from outside.

"Ahem!" she said.

Monday evening arrived and Archie, Maxie and their admins turned up at Professor Sycamore and Lysandre's marquee. Professor Sycamore welcomed them warmly and led them all inside.

"It is so good to see you all again", he said. "I so enjoyed our weekend of sports". Archie made a snorting noise and quickly turned it into a cough when Shelley nudged him.

"Just sit anywhere you like". The Professor waved his hand towards a long, white table with many chairs on either side. "The first course will be served very soon. I'll just go and find Lysandre".

The Team Aqua and Magma guys chose their seats and Professor Sycamore left the marquee. Archie examined the cutlery and patted Courtney on the arm.

"Hey, Courtney? Does this look like snail cutlery to you?"

"No Archie, those are soup spoons", Courtney replied.

"Besides, we wouldn't have snails for the starter", said Maxie, who was sitting the other side of Archie. "That'd be for the main course".

"Ugh, it had better not be", Archie grumbled. "I wanna eat..."...

"Shush dear, I can hear the Professor coming with Lysandre", said Courtney.

Archie helpfully put his hand over his mouth. Maxie cocked his head and listened. Sure enough, the voices of Professor Sycamore and Lysandre could be heard, just outside the marquee.

"Come on dear", Professor Sycamore was saying. "Our guests have all arrived; you must come and welcome them".

"Oh, I cannot be seen in public like this", Lysandre said, the tone of his voice suggesting he was very embarrassed about something.

"Awwww, don't be silly", said Professor Sycamore. "I think you look cute!"

Archie and Maxie exchanged curious glances.

"What's up with him then?" Archie said. "Do you reckon he's lost a bet and is having to wear something really humiliating?"

"I hope so", Maxie said with relish.

The entrance to the marquee was opened and Professor Sycamore and Lysandre stepped inside. From what Archie and Maxie could see, Lysandre looked perfectly normal. He was dressed in one of his stylish suits and didn't have any odd signs around his neck or anything on his head. It was only when he got closer that they realised what had embarrassed him. After four days in the tropical Hoenn sun, his cheeks and nose were covered in freckles.

"Hey, Lysandre", Maxie said in an innocent tone. "You're even better at catching than before, uhuh?"

"Uh, I am?" Lysandre enquired.

"Definitely", said Maxie, while Archie smirked. "Looks like you caught the sun alright!"

**The End**


End file.
